Waterford Township native fights back against Lyme Disease

Sherry Wolfenbarger Cagan, Waterford native, was a national and world cutting horse champion before suffering a debilitating tick bite resulting in Lyme Disease. Today, while preparing for her first competition in eight years, she is dedicated to finding a cure for the devastating disease
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Every day we hike through paddocks and pastures, ride along trails and through woods to enjoy the outdoors with our horses, dogs and farm critters without a second thought about Lyme Borreliosis or Lyme Disease.

It’s an infectious disease caused from a tick-borne bite. Fever, headache, muscle soreness, fatigue and an occasional tell-tale bull’s eye shaped rash can lead to joint pain, heart problems and permanent disability if not diagnosed quickly. And, because the symptoms are similar to many other health problems, treatment is often delayed, which can lead to more complications.

“If I had been properly diagnosed and received early treatment, I would not have endured so many difficult years concerning my health,” said Sherry Wolfenbarger Cagan, a Waterford native.

She moved from Michigan to a family farm in Kentucky after high school graduation in 1981. Her new role is founder and board member of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation in Portola Valley, Calif., where she currently lives with her husband and two daughters. Cagan, who was a national and world cutting horse champion for more than 20 years, is dedicated to finding a cure for the devastating disease that almost took her life following a tick bite at her farm in 2005. She is battling back.

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“I was outside clearing the pasture of our new property when I got bit on the neck by a tick,” said Cagan. “After pulling off the tick, I called my county health department and they told me that I was not at risk in our area. They thought we didn’t have ticks here.”

But, they were wrong.

According to Cagan, there are ticks in every state with the exception of Hawaii. When ticks are in a nymph stage, they are no bigger than a pin head. Symptoms following a bite include dizziness and high fever similar to flu. Once the fever passes, the bacteria continues to deteriorate the body and it becomes increasingly more difficult to treat the infection.

“It’s insidious,” said Cagan.

If diagnosed quickly, antibiotics have proven successful.

She admits that most physicians are not familiar with diagnosing Lyme disease, and they do not know how to treat it.

“Up until now, there has been very little research done,” she explained. “Information is dated and not accurate.”

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the actual number of cases is likely 10 times that of the reported cases — equal to 300,000 new cases per year.

The symptoms often mimic ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and MS (Multiple Sclerosis) where patients become weak as the muscles and nervous system appear to be under attack. Cagan was forced to give up riding and competing in 1998 just as she was about to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for her wins in Cutting Horse competitions. She suffered with one health crisis after another while continually seeking medical advice. She was misdiagnosed as having MS because of the weakness in her muscles, joint pain and the malaise.

“People with Lyme disease suffer in silent despair,” added Cagan. “We want to help give them their lives back.”

The Bay Area Lyme Foundation started in 2012 as the first interdisciplinary Lyme focus national organization funding research to solve the mystery of this disease through awareness, diagnostics and treatment therapies. It is estimated this disease has touched over 400,000 Americans. The foundation has created the first-ever National Lyme Biorepository of clinical Lyme disease patient samples. They are cooperating with Stanford University and working towards finding a cure.

“There is promising research,” she added. “There is hope.”

Cagan’s two girls, who were babies when she became ill, remember their mom on an IV drip.

“This was a tough time as a family. I couldn’t get out of bed to eat and wasn’t able to attend school activities for my kids,” she reflected.

Finally, after seeing more than 50 doctors in eight years, she was correctly diagnosed and treatment began leading to recovery. Just three months ago, she could not walk up a flight of stairs and today her goal is to show her children that she can overcome adversity to try again for a World Championship National Cutting Horse Association Futurity in Fort Worth, Texas. Her first competition was Friday, Nov. 23, and she now faces the “go arounds,” semi-finals and finals wrapping up on Dec. 14.

Today, she is both grateful and elated.

“This is a celebration more than a competition,” said Cagan. “I am able to ride and compete again. All the rest is cream.”

For more information about Lyme Disease and the Bay Area Lyme Foundation, visit www.bayarealyme.org or call 650-530-2439

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